July 13, 2023

Welcome back to EYG Comic Cavalcade, our fortieth edition. This past NEW COMIC BOOK DAY was the largest pile of new comics that I have ever gotten in a single day. There are still seven books and a trade paperback that I have yet to get to since Wednesday afternoon. I have completed 24 books for this edition of EYG Comic Cavalcade.

UPDATE: The Independent Conspiracy of the Missing #3s seemed better this week. I received the missing Hairball #3, and Deep Cuts, Ghostlore, Something Epic, and Star Signs all had third issues out this week and I got them all. I am still missing Neighbors #3 (and 4), Blue Book #3, and No/One #3. Here’s hoping that the Issue three curse is now over.

This is the second week of the Knight Terrors books from DC Comics. I have committed to purchasing all 46 issues of this event series and we are now about a quarter of the way through it. So far I have enjoyed it for the most part. I have never been a huge DC fan despite liking most of their characters. This was quite the commitment for me. This week we had Knight Terrors #1, Knight Terrors: Robin #1, Knight Terrors: The Flash #1, Knight Terrors: Zatanna #1, Knight Terrors: Shazam #1 and Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1. Of these books, my favorite this week is probably the Knight Terrors#1 since they have focused in on Deadman and I have always liked that character.

I did enjoy Shazam, Robin and Zatanna quite a bit. Green Lantern would have been next and Flash was the low of the week, but they were all enjoyable. I do like the Insomnia villain that is behind the trouble and I have found this very creative and visually stunning.

Six more next week.

Other books in this massive pile…

Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel #1. Writers included G. Willow Wilson, Mark Wai & Saladin Ahmed. Artists included Takeshi Miyazawa, Humberto Ramos and Andrea Di Vito. Kaare Andrews was the cover artist. This was a beautiful issue featuring a service for the loss of Ms. Marvel and Kamala Khan. Yes, they are the same person, but they have separate khatam ceremonies for them keeping the secret identity intact. There is a QV code on the last page that takes you to another comic page, featuring Cyclops, who is late to the ceremony and he implies there is a reason. My guess is that he is working on a way to use the X-Men resurrection ability to bring Kamala back. Despite that I have no doubt whatsoever that she’ll be back alive sooner than later, this was a lovely issue with some real emotion.

Fishflies #1. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. I loved this issue. I saw this during Free Comic Book Day and I have been a big fan of Jeff Lemire, so I have been anticipating this new book. And this just knocked it out of the park. It has beautiful art, a story that moves at a perfect clip and a mystery that is totally compelling. This one was a great read.

Antarctica #1. Written by Simon Birks and art by Willi Roberts. Hannah Curtis loved her father but when he was lost somewhere in the Arctic, her life took a distinct change. This was another awesome new book with a story that was so easy to read and beautiful to look at. If not for Fishflies, this would be the best new book of the week.

Groo In the Wild #1. Written by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier and drawn by Sergio Aragonés. Groo is back with Rufferto in search of food to eat while everyone who comes in contact with him immediately panics and is afraid that Groo is going to cause their lives to be destroyed. While Groo is always fun, the plot of this book seems to be similar to all of the other Groo books out there. Still love him though.

Amazing Spider-Man #29. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by Ed McGuinness. Doc Ock’s old arms are looking to bond with Spider-Man and, since Otto and his new arms have captured Norman Osborn and this is the only way Peter can come up with to find Norman, he is going to let them. However, Otto may have another horrible idea involving Norman Osborn.

Dark Ride #7. Written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Andrei Bressan. Joshua Williamson is the main mind behind the Knight Terrors series at DC and he brings the horror vibe to the front here at Devil Land the amusement park. Arthur Dante and his children have a big time conflict and things get heated. Dark Ride continues to be an excellent read each issue.

Haunt You to the End #2. Written by Ryan Cady and drawn by Andrea Mutti. The investigation into the haunted house begins on the mysterious Isla Lodo. This book does an excellent job of creating a mood and keeping the reader a little shaky. Horror comics are hitting some great strides recently and this one fits right in to the club.

Moon Knight #25. “Danse Macabre.” Written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Partha Pratim, Alessandro Cappuccio and Alessandro Vitti. The cover was drawn by Rachelle Rosenberg. Listed as “Enormous 25th issue” this Moon Knight book is very large. It includes Black Spectre (at least the new one), Zodiac, 8-Ball among others. Moon Knight has been outstanding in this series and this 25th issue continues that excellence.

Scarlet Witch #6. Written by Steve Orlando and featuring art by Lorenzo Tammetta & Sara Pichelli. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. Wanda takes a monk of the Archsisterhood named Ganymede to see her son Wiccan and his husband, Teddy aka Dorrek-Vell, the King of the Skrull/Kree alliance.

Hairball #3-4. Written by Matt Kindi and art by Tyler Jenkins. This story concluded with Anna first trying her best to murder the cat Bestie because she believed it was a demon and then trying to find it again when she believed it was not dead and was an ancient demigod. This series took a weird twist, but I loved it.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #8. “Spun Out Part One.” Miles and Starling come across and get into a battle with the Hobgoblin. Miles has been taking a beating lately, coming out of the Carnage storyline and this is the worst time to come across a goblin. The cover pays homage to the classic Amazing Spider-Man #238.

Blue Book #2. Written by James Tynion IV and art by Michael Avon Oeming. This cover art (which is the B cover) was done by Josh Hixson. Betty and Barney and their UFO encounter takes center stage again as we see how this alien encounter affected their lives. I do love Tynion’s work.

Something Epic #3. Written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. Something Epic continues to live up to its name every issue. This book looking at the life and imagination of Danny is utterly gorgeous and may have the best art work on the market currently. There is also a time shift near the end of the book, taking the series into a darker path. Love this book.

The Great British Bump-Off #4. Script by John Allison and art by Max Sarin. This is also Cover B so the art on the cover is from Benjamin Dewey. This extremely fun and funny series comes to a close as we discover that Shauna is actually a better detective than we thought. Good thing too because she is not a good chef.

Ghostlore #3. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Leomacs. Harmony and her father are trying to use their ability to talk to the dead to talk to Emily, her mother and his wife, who died when they gained this ability. No luck, but there are other spirits that come to talk t them. Harmony is more ready to listen and help than her father is. But there is something horrible coming…

Loki #2. “The Liar: Chapter Two.” Loki survived last issue’s apparent decapitation but finds HERself in trouble again. Loki heads off in search of the rest of the pieces of the cursed ship Nagliar. The ship is apparently the narrator of this story too.

What If…? Dark: Loki #1. Written by Walter Simonson and penciled by Scot Eaton. Walter Simonson & Laura Martin did the cover art. This definitely felt like an old school What If…?. Dark and tragic, with characters dying that would never actually die in the actual Marvel Universe. Loki brings about the destruction of everything in this issue.

July 6, 2023

Welcome back to EYG Comic Cavalcade.

We are looking into the MYSTERY OF THE MISSING INDEPENDENT ISSUES #3.

Last week, I discovered that I was missing several issues of Blue Book as #5 had come out that week and I only had #1. I thought this was an anomaly, but it may be a trend. As I was boxing up some of the other books I got last week, I spotted No/One and Hairball and I thought to myself, ‘geez, it’s been awhile since I got one of these.’ Again I did not think anything of it since independent comics are notorious for their release schedules and I do not have a location like I have for Marvel.com that shows me when certain issues are comng out.

So when I was at Comic World yesterday for NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, I saw on the stand Hairball #4 and No/One #4. I thought, ‘Hm, weird. I did not think these books were that far.‘ I sat down and ran through the past issues of EYG Comic Cavalcade and I could not find a review of either of those issues. I found the write up for #2 of both issues.

I am also missing Neighbors #3, a fact that I just now investigated (#4 too, BTW).

There was the trouble I had a few months ago with Where Monsters Lie #3. There was White Savior too (but that was a #4, so it does not fit the pattern 😦 )

There seems to be some kind of deep seeded conspiracy with issue #3. I see that The Seasons Have Teeth #3 (though the Image website claims this should have come out on June 28th) and Deep Cuts #3 are due out soon so there may be some continued trouble.

What is it about Independent comics and issue#3? What is the weirdness going on? Marvel and DC never seem to have the same problem. Only Image, Boom and other independent books. Coincidence????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Moving on, I have committed to the GIGANTIC DC crossover, Knight Terrors that will be out in July and August. This is unlike me as I am not much of a DC Comics collector, but I read and enjoyed the Knight Terrors book given out during Free Comic Book Day and I decided I would go ahead and read all 46 issues of the crossover event. I have enjoyed the horror style books and I have always enjoyed the DC characters even though I have never been a huge fan of their actual comics.

Yesterday, the first six of 46 came out. This included the Knight Terrors: First Blood #1, Knight Terrors: Batman #1, Knight Terrors: Black Adam #1, Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #1, Knight Terrors: Ravager #1, and Knight Terrors: The Joker #1. I read them together and I was reasonably pleased with what was here.

I have always liked Deadman and his presence in First Blood was entertaining as well as his interactions with Batman. The main book was written by Joshua Williamson. My least favorite of the six was Black Adam#1. It seemed just like the beginning of the movie and I kind of sped through it. Ravager #1 was decent, but I did not know who this character was. G. Willow Wilson wrote the Poison Ivy issue which was intriguing taking a Stepford Wives tone. The Joker issue was kind of weird, but I want to see where it goes because it seemed to pick up near the end.

Overall, I would give the first 6 issues a combined B+/B so far which is a solid start. We’ll see what next week brings.

Other books this week…

Daredevil #13. “The Red Fist Saga Part 13.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Marco Checchetto. Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run is coming to an end soon, and he is wrapping up his brilliant work on the character with some more jaw-dropping work. Matt has to die to save Foggy, and he will take the risk. The final page is something else.

Doctor Strange #5. “The Infernal Marriage.” Doctor Strange and Clea Strange are off to attend a wedding, but it is not the type of wedding you would expect. Or maybe this is exactly the type of wedding you would expect that would invite Dr. Strange and Clea. Dormammu is officiating the service. The mysteries of the recent murders continue in an extremely entertaining book written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Pasqual Ferry. Alex Ross added the art on the cover.

Swan Song #1. “The end of…the World.” Written by W. Maxwell Prince and drawn by Martin Simmonds. I believe this is a new anthology series with stories taken place just before the apocalypse. This was a good story about a boy going to retrieve a magazine to read to his sick mother. This one was really good.

Fantastic Four #9. “Art is Long-and Life is Short.” Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Ivan Fiorelli. Alicia Masters-Grimm steps up in a big way as the narrator and one of the main protagonists as a mind controlled Reed and Ben try to kill her and Susan. I have really enjoyed this newest run of FF and Ryan North really has a good grasp on these characters, bringing out the family aspect once again.

Captain America #750. Multiple stories from Tochi Onyebuchi, Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly, Stephanie Williams, J.N. DeMatteis, Dan Jurgens, Cody Ziglar and Gail Simone with art by R.B. Silva, Carmen Carnero, Rachel Stott, Sara Pichelli, Dan Jurgens, Marcus Williams and Daniel Acuna. Short stories from both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson’s world. These were easy reads and had some solid emotion behind it.

Spider-Man #10. “Maxed Out: Part Three- Shocking Behavior.” Written by Dan Slott and drawn by Mark Bagely. Peter has maxed out his Spider-sense so he senses danger for EVERYONE and he has to battle Electro. Thankfully, he is not alone. Spider-Boy!!! I do love this new character and I look forward to the mystery surrounding who he is and where he came from is revealed.

X-Men- Before the Fall: The Sinister Four #1. “Lonely Hearts Club.” Written by Kieron Gillen and featuring art by Paco Medina. Lucas Werneck did the cover art. This give a background look at Doctor Stasis and Mother Righteous. I liked this more than last week’s Before the Fall book, but it was the last book I read today so this X-event has some work to do to engage me.

Peacemaker: Tries Hard #3. Written by Kyle Starks with art by Steve Pugh. Poor Chris is going through the emotional wringer here. This felt very much like an episode of the HBO series so that is a good thing.

Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1. “Part One: The Curious Case of the Exploding Man.” Written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Paolo Villanelli. Mike McKone and Jesus Aburtov did the cover. New Captain Marvel series kicked off with a solid issue as Carol has to deal with a weird space anomaly that winds up sucking her and a group of others into a portal. Started off with a cool cold open with Carol sving a boat in a storm, the normal way!

Phantom Road #5. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Gabriel H. Walta. This continues to be one of the better apocalyptic comics on the market. And there is no doubt that there is a totally weird arrival of a furry guest. This ended Book One and I am excited to see it continue. It also avoided the curse of the independent #3s.

Love Everlasting #9 . Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan has been in the same location for awhile now. There are several things that have been happening to her (kids, marriage, etc.) that hadn’t happened before because she would snap away or be killed by the cowboy when she fell in love. She was never in love with her husband Don here, and the newest thing she is facing is the death of him. What happens next?

Thor Annual #1. “Mythos.” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing and featured art by Ibraim Roberson. Adam Kubert & Matt Milla did the cover art. Thor takes on the new villain, M.Y.T.H.O.S. who is a face that we recognize.

Grim #11. “Chapter Eleven: Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Jess and Edward are trapped in a prison beneath the river Styx, with screaming souls above them. Adira comes to ask for help.

X-Men #24. “Once an X-Man.” Written by Gerry Duggan and featuring art by Joshua Cassara. This issue crosses around with lots of mutants. Sunfire to Otherworld? Jean and Scott with a interactions between them. The X-Men battling at Gameworld. Lots of stuff.

X-23: Deadly Regenesis #5. “The Past Haunts Us All Part 5.” Written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Edgar Salazar. Kalman Andrasofszky did the cover art. This short flashback series finished up with this issue. Kingpin showed up and Laura and Jordan get themselves out of trouble. This was a reasonably fun series.

July 2, 2023

I finished up the remaining books from last week’s NEW COMIC BOOK DAY tonight and I have to say that there were several of the books that were either disappointing or difficult to get into. That is a shame, but there were also a few that really stood out from this group of comics including yet another collection of past issues.

Which was, of course…

Killadelphia Vol. 4: The End of All. Collects Killadelphia issues #19-24. Killadelphia has been an awesome trip over the last month. Each week I have picked up another of the trade paperbacks collecting issues from the Image series. Each week I looked forward to sitting down and reading through some of the most original vampire storytelling I have seen in ages. In this volume, we have already seen John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, but now we get George Washington! I know this sounds cheesy, but it is anything but. And then, as all of the vampires, led by Abigail Adams, who I had become used to looking on as the villains, joined up with our protagonists (and the werewolves) this volume shook what I knew about this series. They also brought in the Haitian general Toussaint Louverture as an opposition to the vampire crew and everything is up in the air. Love it. Comic World was out of volumes, though, apparently Vol. 5 is out very soon and I have a copy of it ordered. Very excited to see where this goes. I am sure I will not expect it.

Damn Them All #6. Written by Simon Spurrier and drawn by Charlie Adlard. The first arc of this series comes to a close here. While this was the one book this post that was not from last week’s NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, it was also one that did not disappoint me. It has Ellie Hawthorne as one of the least trustworthy protagonists around. She is manipulative and secretive and doubting her own morality. Damn Them All has been a tough read, but it is very much worth it.

Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #5. “Part Five: Secret Journey.” Written by John Jennings and illustrated by Valentine DeLandro. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Okay, so here is the first book that was not very entertaining this week. This entire short series has been disappointing for me. I have always enjoyed a good Silver Surfer series, but I just found this one to be lackluster. This is the final issue for this series and it is one that I will not be sad to see go.

X-Men-Before the Fall: The Heralds of Apocalypse #1. “Genesis and Revelations.” I had zero interest in reading this after the first few pages. I believe this is the set up for the next giant mutant crossover, but I hope it is more interesting than this because I just did not find it engaging at all.

Worldtr33 #3. Words by James Tynion IV and art by Fernando Blanco. Each issue of this has been a challenge to read. I have found it difficult to follow off the start, but I have liked what I have read. This issue was the one that I found the most understandable. I do love James Tynion IV’s work so I am sticking with this as it moves along. It might require a re-read at some point.

The Riddler: Year One #5. “Blinded By the Light.” Written Paul Dano and art by Steven Subic. This was one of the most original books I have seen in quite some time. Written more like a journal or a case file, this gives a glimpse into the mind of this version of The Riddler.

Thor #35. “Blood of the Father Finale” Written by Torunn Grønbekk and penciled by Sergio Davila and Juan Gedeon. Nic Klein did the cover art. This series of Thor comes to an end with this issue. I will admit that this Thor book has not been my favorite, so I am looking forward to the upcoming Al Ewing Immortal Thor series. This wrapped up everything nicely, finally sending Odin off to Valhalla.

Ghost Rider #15. “Dragged out of Hell” Written by Benjamin Percy and penciled by Cory Smith. Bjorn Barends did the cover art. Johnny Blaze has to take a huge risk in order to save Danny Ketch. He has to let the Ghost Rider head into Hell to retrieve the spirit of vengeance that had been torn out of Danny.

June 30, 2023

Happy Friday! I have a bunch of books that I read on Wednesday at Comic World and some fun stories to go with them.

So I was at Comic World looking at the books that were released this week and I was completely shocked. Right there on the table was James Tynion’s Blue Book #5. NUMBER FIVE! I have been waiting for the next issue of Blue Book since number one which I had asked to go on the pull list. I assumed that this was just one of those independent books that was taking a long time to come out. Independent comics are notorious for not following their deadlines perfectly.

Now I discovered that all of issues were now out, as it was a five-issue series. There was issue #4 in the shop too, and Todd told me he would get me #2 & 3 as well.

Next, was Silk #1. I saw Silk#2 on the Marvel web site on Tuesday night and I was shocked. I did not even know that Silk #1 had come out. I get all Marvel #1s so I was surprised that this was missing. I wondered if it were among the comics that had been burned in the wreck last month, but apparently it was not. I just missed it. I ordered it off eBay and picked up #2 at Comic World.

So….

Silk #1-2. Written by Emily Kim and drawn by Ig Guara. This has been the best two issue I have ever read involving Silk. Silk is being held by Saya Ishii and her brother Max sending her through some kind of weird dream-worlds. It kind of reminded me of Westworld on HBO. We get Western train robber Silk in issue two and noir Silk in issue one. Next issue seems to be pirate Silk. This was a quick read and was very engaging. Glad I picked it up.

Blue Book #4-5. Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming. I have the B cover on both books, with #4 being done by Elsa Charretier and #5 by Marcos Martin. These were fun too, and they seemed to be connected. I did not think these were intended to be crossing over, but both issues featured Betty and Barney and their abduction story. I am curious to see what issues #2 & 3 bring.

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #1. Written by Tate Brombal and illustrated by Isaac Goodhart, from an idea by James Tynion IV. This was a fun surprise. I had no idea what this was, but Tynion’s name pulled me in. A kid who brings trouble with him, talking about all his troubles to a pigeon (though it felt as if he were braking the fourth wall). His crush turned into a werewolf and killed. Very nice kick off to this series. Dark Horse has been having some good stuff lately.

Klik Klik Boom #1. Written by Doug Wagner and featuring art by Doug Dabbs. Another series that I hadn’t heard of before and grabbed issue one to check it out. And it was fascinating. A mysterious woman who cannot speak, but geos around taking Polaroids of the people around her as a way to communicate. Oh, and kick ass. It was a compelling issue one and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes from there.

Amazing Spider-Man #28. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by Ed McGuiness. Doc Ock is back with some brand new, kick ass tentacles that can do way more than just grab people. He is kicking Peter and Norman around. I do love Spider-Man and it is nice to get Otto back to the bad guy again.

Deadpool #8. “Under the Skin.” Written by Alyssa Wong and with art by Luigi Zagaria. Martin Coccolo & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. This was a great issue of Deadpool with wade waking up without his scars on this body. Why is that? Why are Spider-Man, Wolverine, Domino and Cable making him breakfast? And how does all of this connect to Deadpool’s dog? I have enjoyed this Deadpool run so far.

Avengers Beyond #4. Written by Derek Landy and penciled by Greg Land. It is the Avengers vs. the Bootleg Avengers! What? Bootleg Avengers? And things go poorly for the Beyonder. This was a lot of fun with the two Avengers groups.

Local Man #5. Written by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley and drawn by Tony Fleecs. Jack brings the story about the murder of Hodag to a close as the big final battle goes on. But the story takes a new twist at the end, apparently setting up the next chapter, and Pepper the dog is apparently a kick ass dog.

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #14. Written by Tochi Onyebuchi and drawn by Zé Carlos. This felt like a wrap up of Sam Wilson’s Captain America book. They are promoting Captain America #750 at the end and Sam seemed to be making things right with Joaquin. This is listed as Legacy issue 749 so I am not sure where things go from here.

She-Hulk #14. “Girl Can’t Help It: Part 4.” Written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Andres Genolet. Dee Cunniffe did the cover art. She-Hulk and the FF are trying to determine what the Scoundrel is up to. He picks up She-Hulk for a date. However, he has some other plans as well.

Carnage Reigns Omega #1, Written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Julius Ohta & Rogê Antônio. Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Edgar Delgado did the cover. Miles Morales and Tony Stark are able to stop Carnage , bringing the crossover event to a close. This was a good conclusion, but since I did not read all of the issues, I did feel a little lost. Still, I enjoyed Miles’s efforts.

Warlock Rebirth #3. “Savior” Written by Ron Marz and penciled by Ron Lim. Doctor Strange has to go into Weirdworld in order to try and snap Adam Warlock out of his funk. He wants Adam to go after Eve Warlock and retrieve the Soul gem.

Indigo Children #4. “Chapter Four: Miracles and Providence.” Written by Curt Pires & Rockwell White and art by Alex Diotto nd Dee Cunniffe. The group of Indigo Children head to Kabul to search for the next Indigo child… the Ghost of Kabul! And things do not go well for them.

Daredevil & Echo #2. Written by Taboo & B. Earl with art by Phil Noto. Daredevil & echo face off with the Demagoblin. They are dealing with something that happened back in 1835, and we get flashback to it as well. So far this has been interesting.

June 26, 2023

Welcome back to the Comic Cavalcade! Thirty-six posts comprised of dozens of comic books. I am happy that I have gotten back into actually reading these books instead of just buying them.

Once again, most of these books are the ones that were left over from last week’s pull list. I really do have a lot of book I read in a week since I have gotten into the independents.

Start off with…

Killadelphia Vol. 3: Home is Where the Hatred Is. Written by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander. The third volume of Killadelphia, which collected issues 13-18 of the Image series. This is the third consecutive week that I picked up a new collection of Killadelphia and they have only gotten better. The last two weeks have ended with moments that caused me to shout out in suspense… wishing I could read the next one immediately. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are running around as vampires and we get what we’ve been waiting for… werewolves! This has been an excellent series.

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #5. “Thou Art More Near They Death.” Written by Tini Howard and featuring art by Vasco Georgiev. Erica D’Urso and Matthew Wilson did the cover art. This short series comes to an end as Betsy gets the better of Morgan Le Fey. I have to say that I am glad this one has come to an end because I have not been enjoying this much over the last several issues.

Damn Them All #5. Written by Simon Spurrier and drawn by Charlie Adlard. This is, of course, one of the books that I did not buy last week. I have been working on the first six issues of this series and I think this one has been my favorite so far. It is a tough read, dense with writing and filled with difficult character names. I have to work to know what is going on, but I do think it is worth it. Ellie has been showing to be a kick ass character.

The Vigil #2. “Weather Warning” Written by Ram V and art by Lalit Kumar Sharma. I was not sure how I felt about issue one last month and I decided I would give this a second issue to try it out. I gave it a chance and it has come up wanting. I will not be continuing this one after this issue.

Guardians of the Galaxy #3. “Hunt of the Spartax.” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing with art by Kev Walker. This cover art was done by Marco Checchetto. The Spartax Empire sent Captain Sagittar of the First Arcana to go on a hunt… for Grootfall. I am intrigued by the events that have led to Groot being this new persona.

All Eight Eyes #3. Written by Steve Fox and drawn by Piotr Kowalski. This issue, we get some new information on Reynolds and some frighteningly good spider action. I was unhappy at the end though when it said that next issue would be the conclusion. Conclusion? Only four issues? That was a disappointment. It’s been a great series so far.

New Mutants: Lethal Legion #4. “When I Was a Lad” Written by Charlie Jane Anders and penciled by Enid Balám. The team of New Mutants really came together in this issue and stepped up against the Lethal Legion. I am still learning who some of these mutants are, but I like them a lot. One more issue for this series too.

Bloodline: Daughter of Blade#5. Written by Danny Lore and drawn by Karen S. Darboe. Yet another series coming to an end with this issue. Brielle is the daughter of Blade and she does a really great job kicking vampire ass. I would like to see more from Brielle down the road.

June 21, 2023

It is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and I have a brand new banner for EYG Comic Cavalcade. The new one included several new pics from the comics including ‘boobs and nipples.’ Ah, always fun.

Ultimate Invasion #1. Written by Jonathan Hickman and Penciled by Bryan Hitch. Reed Richards from Universe 1610, aka The Master, escapes from his prison. and intends to somehow return to his own universe. He actually offered Miles Morales to go with him. The Master taunts the Illuminati with his plans, showing that they could not stop him. This was a really good issue, though I was not too anxious to buy it three times (thanks Todd).

The Bone Orchard Mythos: Tenement #1. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. We start off the next horror series from the Bone Orchard Mythos universe. We start off by being introduced to seven characters who love together in this tenement building and they have some kind of connection.

The Avengers #2. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by C.F. Villa. Stuart Immonen did the cove art. The Avengers spend a chunk of this issue saving normal people that Kang has told them are doomed. And Carol Danvers waits to see if Kang the Conqueror survives to give the details about what had happened and what was about to face the Earth.

The Incredible Hulk #1. “Age of Monsters” Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art from Nic Klein. The Hulk is back and the new series is returning to the horror concept that we got with the Immortal Hulk. Thankfully, the Hulk is no longer a spaceship! This first issue was very good and I am much more excited than the previous story arc.

Hellcat #4. “Soulmates” Written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Alex Lins. I love Hellcat! This has been a fantastic series so far. We get the reveal of much of what happened and what Damien Hellstrom is wanting to do. The book keeps heading back to Patsy’s teen years to mix this story together. Next issue will wrap this excellent series up and I will be sad to see it go.

The Tick #6. “Villains Inc.” Written and penciled by EYG Hall of Famer Ben Edlund. Todd surprised me with this book in my box. He picked it up this weekend and wondered if I wanted it. I did. I do not have much in way of Tick comics, but I love the big, blue force of justice. This is a very early issue too, with a story that was adapted in the pilot of The Tick cartoon from the 1990s. Thanks Todd.

Wonder Woman #800. Honestly, I bought this as a collectible. I skimmed through it and saw a bunch of Wonder Woman stories. I got the C cover, out of a WHOLE BUNCH of variant covers. Mine is by Brian Bolland. I’m not sure why I picked this up. I skipped Flash #800 last week. Oh well.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7. Written by Cody Ziglar and featuring art by Federico Vicentini. Dike Ruan and Alejandro Sanchez were the cover artists. Miles continues his battle with Carnage. Iron Man showed up in this issue too. I have to say that I am still confused because I have not been reading the whole Carnage Reigns arc. I’ll be happy when that ends soon.

Wild’s End #1. Written by Dan Abnett and illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard. I saw an ad for this book in one of Boom Studios’ other books (it may have been Ghostlore #2) and it looked interesting. I picked up the virgin cover, but I did not like it. I did not get engaged with the story and I was just not interested. Do not order this one for me, Todd (running joke).

I am Iron Man #4. “Chapter Four: Limitless” Written by Murewa Ayodele and drawn by Dotun Akande. I enjoyed this issue of I am Iron Man quite a bit. Tony Stark is seeing giant creatures but no one else can see them. The first few pages where Tony is trying to find anyone who could see what he was seeing was a lot of fun.

Scarlet Witch Annual #1. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Carlos Nieto. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. The prelude to Contest of Chaos. Wanda and Agatha Harkness sit down for tea. That is just the start. It was an interesting story. At one point, it felt as if Wanda was in control of the situation, but it looked like Agatha had her own motive.

Hallows’ Eve #4. Written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Michael Dowling. Janine continues to use her monster masks to battle Maxine Danger and the Beyond Corporation. Maxine’s lackeys are able to get some of Janine’s masks and we look like we are prepping up for the next issue finale.

Edge of Spider-Verse #3. “Nobody Knows Who You Are” Written by Dan Slott and drawn by Humberto Ramos. There is a back-up story here too, but I bought this because of the first story involving Spider-Boy. We see Spider-Boy unmasked for the first time (I think) and his name is Bailey Briggs. I’m still not sure what is going on here, but I am in on Spider-Boy.

June 19, 2023

I had some time this afternoon. I considered watching some more Twilight Zone episodes as the Daily Zone moves into season three of the show, but I chose, instead, to finish off the comics from last week’s comic haul before new comic book day on Wednesday. Tomorrow is fairly packed with things for me, so I thought the time was right.

BY the way, wild Kraven the Hunter trailer released today. Not sure how I feel about it though since Sony is behind it and Sony’s track record, outside of Spider-Verse animated movies, is not great. Morbius? Venom?

Anyway…

Killadelphia Vol. 2: Burn Baby Burn. Written by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander. Six months after the events of the massive slaughter of people in Philadelphia by the vampires led by John Adams, trouble gets stirred up once again, this time by a different Adams, Abigail Adams. More history, this time featuring Thomas Jefferson, as well as other historical moments. This volume ended at a horrible point… making me ready to see Vol. 3.

Damn Them All #4. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. Ellie takes the fight to reclaim the demons right ahead with a new idea. She has a way to get the advantage without using the demons that have been stuck in the coins. And I loved her choice, which was so unexpected.

Rogue & Gambit #4. “Killer Tech” Written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Carlos Gomez. Steve Morris sis the art for the cover. Power Broker has technology that he is using to control a group of super villains and this leads to him also taking control of Rogue. Gambit arrives to try and help, and has to wind up battling against Rogue.

Ghostlore #2. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Leomacs. Lucas and Harmony face some frightening new ghosts. Lucas especially has to face some horrifying creatures wanting to tell him their story. Then, someone unknown shows up at the end, leading into where the story is heading. Some excellent imagery in this issue.

X-23: Deadly Regenesis #4. “The Past Haunts us All Part 4” Written by Erica Schultz with art by Edgar Salazar. Kalman Andrasofszky is the cover artist. Laura is working for Kimura and attempting to do it without killing anyone. It does not go well for her. Oh, and Kingpin is here.

Superman: Lost #4. “The Edge of Forever” Written by Priest and drawn by Carlo Pagulayan. Superman is still trying to find his way back to earth. He is still in his bright white outfit that stores the solar power.

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #4. Written by Emily Kim and penciled by Kei Zama. David Nakayama was the cover artist. The origin of the different Gwen clones are revealed here as Doctor Lyla Bennett was out to kill all Gwens in all the multiverse.

June 14, 2023

Yes, it is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY so there are a bunch of new books again this week. I’m happy to say that Todd was able to see this week. Progress.

It was cool today as Todd brought a bunch of his art pages from his collection. It was awesome to see some of these.

New books this week…

Something is Killing the Children Pen & Ink Issue One. This is a version of the first issue of Something is Killing the Children in pen & ink, no color. It is spectacularly gorgeous. There are also notes at the bottom of each page from artist Werther Dell’edera. This is an awesome collectible. Boom is sure taking advantage of this book as much as they can.

Something Epic #2. Written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. Another wonderful issue. Beautifully illustrated and a lot of details about Danny and his mom. I have to say that this is one of my most favorite new books.

Doctor Strange #4. “U.X.O.” This issue gives us some information on W.A.N.D. and Wong’s involvement in said organization. It’s great to see Wong getting some attention and, plot wise, someone or something is killing evil magicians and monsters. This book has done a solid job of building anticipation and suspense.

Amazing Spider-Man #27. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by Ed McGuiness. Peter and Norman try to deal with their own guilt over the death of Kamala Khan last issue. Meanwhile Doctor Octopus is back trying to figure out the problems with his arms’ betrayal. ASM is always consistent and is one of the first books I read every time.

Black Panther #1. “Reign at Dusk: Part 1” Written by Eve L. Ewing and penciled by Chris Allen. Taurin Clarke was the cover artist. The new Black Panther series kicks off with T’Challa still hanging out in the shadows of Wakanda after being banished in the last series. Black Panther follows a young lawyer, N’Yobi. We follow the character of N’Yobi through much of this issue and I am intrigued on why T’Challa is following him because the conversation between the pair was interrupted by a new, cool looking villain.

The Great British Bump-Off #3. “Bloodshed Berry Cheesecake” Script by John Allison with art by Man Sarin. Another attempted poisoning sends the cast into chaos as they are to make a cake that shows their favorite movies. I knew the movie that Shauna chose (Under the Skin- starred Scarlett Johansson). This Dark Horse comic continues to be entertaining every issue.

Haunt You to the End #1. Written by Ryan Cady and featuring artist Andrea Mutti. This issue was fun, but it was basically a set-up issue. We met some characters and set them up to go to this haunted house on an island that was to be the most haunted isle of the world, An isle that is going to be overwhelmed by water in a couple of days. Set the timer and place everyone in position. Looking forward to the next step in this one.

Captain Marvel #50. “Marvelous.” Carol is dealing with her loss of Binary during the Brood story arc and her friends throw her a party, a party they knew Carol would hate. Spider-Woman then took Carol to Dr. Strange to help her deal with her pain. Lots of Marvel cameos through this book as Kelly Thompson’s run on Captain Marvel comes to a close.

Moon Knight #24. “Ill Met By Moonlight” Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Federico Sabbatini. Steven Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Why does Marc Specter look exactly like peter Parker as he is grilling? That distracted me the whole time during this section of the book. Morpheus is here, but not in the best shape ever. He drops a name to Moon Knight about who is behind it all.

Spider-Man: India #1. “Seva Part 1” One of the coolest characters from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse gets a comic all of his own. Pavitr Prabhakar is Spider-Man: India and we get a bunch of his life shown to us in Earth-50101, in Mumbai, India (not Mumbattan like in Across the Spider-Verse) and I think I liked the costume design in the movie more than what we get here. Still, I enjoyed this first issue and wonder where it will go.

Captain America: Cold War Omega. “Part 6” The Cold War story concludes here with Cap and Sam confronts the White Wolf, Bucky and Ian in Dimension Z. The control of Dimension Z is up in the air and gets wrapped up in this issue. Btw.. the battle between Peggy Carter and Sharon Carter was pretty epic. This is leading into the big Captain America #750 (legacy numbered).

June 13, 2023

Today, I carved out most of the afternoon, dedicating the time to reading a giant graphic novel that I picked up last week at Comic World and had not gotten around to yet.

Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume One from Image Comics arrived at the shop last week and I thought it was interesting. I have been reading more independent books over the last year or so, especially from Image, so this looked like a collected series that I wanted to try out.

I have also enjoyed the work of Ed Brubaker, in particular his work on Captain America and Daredevil. My rule on independent books to to look to the writer and, if the writer is someone I enjoy, I’ll give it a chance. Marvel and DC are more about the character and the independents are more about writer (and to a lesser extent artist).

However, Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume One was an intimidating book. Four hundred and fifty-two pages of content. That is a significant time commitment. I still have that graphic novel, Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith, that looks like a textbook which I haven’t gotten around to reading yet (maybe this summer…?).

As I said, I left time available this Tuesday afternoon after I spent the morning with the June Swoon 2 and The Daily Zone and I started in on Criminal. I was happy I did.

I will admit I had some trouble getting into it at first, but you could say that about any brand new story that you start. It did not take too long before I was engaged and reading closely on the crime story that was being unraveled before my eyes. I loved the characters and was hoping that things would work out. Things were happening that I did not expect. When the first part of the book, “Coward” was over, I was thrilled.

Then I thought this was going to be an anthology book because of the way the first arc ended. I was wrong though. Instead, the next story arc, “Lawless” took characters involved in that first story and looked at them from a different POV and a different time frame. I loved how they were able to interweave the different stories focusing on different characters who may not have been the focus of the original story.

The third arc was called “The Dead and the Dying.” It actually had the focus on three different characters around the same story which was a real novel way to present the story.

This book was awesome, filled with violence, sex and questionable choices. The characters were very well developed and three dimensional. Their arcs were well defined and you see how things blended together. It was worth the commitment required to read the book.

Other books this post…

Year Zero Volume 0 #2. Written by Daniel Kraus and art by Goran Sudžuka. Kaare Andrews provided the cover art. Year Zero continues to have multiple stories going on that all are interesting in this new troublesome world. I loved the last page which indicates a Bigfoot/zombie connection.

Sleeping Beauties #9. I skipped number eight. Oops. Oddly enough, I did not notice until just now. That does not speak well for this series. I think I may be done with this one.

Strayed #2. Written by Carlos Giffoni and drawn by Juan Doe. I was a few pages into number two and this is another book that I have decided to stop reading. I got this series in a Christmas pack at Comic World a few years back but I just was not enjoying the book.

Warlock Rebirth #2. “Mindscape” Written by Ron Marz and drawn by Ron Lim. Eve Warlock is here and she is ready to kick some butt. Meanwhile, Adam Warlock is having some issues and Gamora, Pip the Troll and Genis-Vell went to see Dr. Strange.

Money Shot: Comes Again #2. Written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Gisele Lagace. Not sure what this book is about. Lots of sex scenes with weird robots in this issue. The cover… boobies and nipples!

Damn Them All #3. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. Mr. Wax, who has one of the possessed coins in his pocket, found that his wife would pay the price. Elle Hawthorne are getting into the mix and meets up with Theo Bolster of the 500 Club, another iffy character. Things are bolstering in this series. I am having some issues with knowing who is who among these characters, but I am still engaged enough to decipher it.

June 11, 2023

There are still a couple of books from last week that I have yet to read, but a chunk more have gone down since. The biggest one that I have yet to touch is the giant hardcover book Criminals by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It collected that series and I am looking forward to getting that one started. However, it is a big book and is a tad intimidating.

So with some of the others from last week still up, I will push that book off for awhile.

Killadelphia Vol. 1. “Sins of the Father.” Written by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander. This is a collection of Killadelphia issues #1-6 from Image. This series was Eisner nominated and, although I typically do not like the collected books, Killadelphia has been around for awhile and would be expensive to get the actual comic book issues. And who knows if I would have even liked it. So I grabbed the first volume at Comic World last week. This was great. It made President John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams vampires. This was so cool and told a great father/son story as well. May have to look into the next volume of books.

Damn Them All #2. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. More magic as Dora and Ellie move on with their attempts to find help with the 73 demons. We are introduced to Carlin and Pruflas in this issue.

X-Men #23. “When Cometh… the Stark Sentinels” The X-Men come to confront the brand new Iron Man Sentinel from Orchis and they discover that one of these new Sentinels is going to be very difficult to handle.

New Mutants: Lethal Legion #3. “Old Wounds, Old Weapons“. These New Mutants are strange for me. I have found them interesting to read, but I have struggled to know who was whom. Outside the familiar New Mutants such as Rahne, Dani and Karma, the rest of these characters are new or unfamiliar to me and tough to connect with. I have been enjoying the book so far though.

Fury #1 “Who is S.C.O.R.P.I.O.?” Written by Tom King. Art is handled by several people including Scot Eaton & Cam Smith, Tom Reilly, Adam Kubert, and Ramon Rosanas. Adam Kubert and Dean White did the cover art. This was an interesting book using both the new Nick Fury and the original Nick Fury, showing where they are and moments of their backstory on how they got where they were. It was neat how they told the story with different styles from the different time periods. I could definitely get into more Nick Fury, especially with Secret Invasion coming this month on Disney +.

Thor #34. “Blood of the Fathers Part Four” More goodness from Thanos, Dr. Doom and Thor. We also have Hela making a return, Loki showing up, Thor’s sister taking a step forward. Things are feeling as if they are beginning to prepare for a finale for this storyline.

Deadpool: Badder Blood #1. Story by Rob Liefeld, script by Chad Bowers and pencils by Rob Liefeld. Team up with Cable and Wolverine. I have to say there were some amazing moments of art in this book, including a couple of pages that were tilted in the other direction that made this an intriguing read. I’ve been digging Deadpool recently.

Star Signs #2. Written by Saladin Ahmed and featuring art by Megan Levens. A group of young heroes, who’ve been dubbed names of the Zodiac, are begin brought together after the stars disappeared from the sky. It looks as if there are two sides collecting powered individuals and things are getting more fascinating.

Invincible Iron Man #7. “Fight the Future” Written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Juan Frigeri. Kael Ngu did the art on the cover. Tony and Rhodey try an assault on the Stark Unlimited facility producing the Iron Man Sentinels. Things seem to be going well until Rhodey gets captured and set up for murder. (BTW… I thought the cover art was a little weird. It looks like Tony Stark has big rollie-pollie, cartoonish eyes that are looking up and to the right. I know that is not what it was supposed to be, but now I can’t unsee it.

Peacemaker: Tries Hard #2. Written by Kyle Starks and drawn by Steve Pugh. Cover art was by Kris Anka. Peacemaker and Mallah go to assault the secret base of General Immortus to get the DNA of the Terminator. And things do not turn out well for Peacemaker.

Daredevil & Echo #1. Written by Taboo & B. Earl with art by Phil Noto. This story takes place during two distinct timelines, current day with Daredevil and Echo and in 1835 with Tommy Murdock. This was a good read, better than I anticipated it was going to be.

X-Men: Before the Fall-Mutant First Strike #1. “Here to Help” The anti-mutant organization Orchis is spreading misinformation and propaganda against mutants and the X-Men are doing what they can by helping victims of a deadly strike against a small town of Milford. The strike was intended to look like it was done by mutants, though it seemed that Orchis orchestrated it. It was cool to see some of these X-Men again (in their fun red X, white jackets). It was weird though cause I saw Angel here and then, for a few panels, I saw Archangel, and I did not know why there was no example of Warren changing. Maybe I missed something over the years of skipping X-books.

Love Everlasting #8. “Too Hip for Love.” Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan is back from the mental ward and is struggling to maintain her grasp on sanity. Doesn’t help when she is seeing the Cowboy constantly. Plus, it never seems to change from 1963. Joan is reaching the end of her rope as she had a gun to her head this issue. She did not kill herself, but the idea is there.

Ambassadors #6. Written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Matteo Scalera. I picked up the second variant cover, which was in black and white. This is the final issue of the first arc of Millar’s newest book. This final issue was filled with some excellent action as the super heroes all come together for the first time. A brutal ending too.

June 7, 2023

Wow, what a day.

It was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and it was the first day I was able to go to Comic World early in the afternoon and sit and do some reading. It was a pleasant day, and I got a chance then to talk with my friend Todd.

Todd had attended a convention this past weekend in Minneapolis. He got some books signed for me by Dan Jurgens (more on that later). He also had the opportunity to sit and talk with the 1970s star of Flash Gordon, Sam Jones. Sam Jones was very tall, according to Todd. Todd was standing and Sam was sitting and he was still talker than Todd (Todd may also have been a bit short…)

Comic World received about half of the Marvel comic books in from a few weeks ago when the truck had that terrible accident. That meant that there was a huge lot of books in my box. I also picked up a couple of other books (including a graphic novel that I haven’t gotten to yet). I have read a whole bunch of books this week, but I still have a pile of new books to read that rivals a huge regular week. It is quite impressive.

Starting off with what I have finished reading….

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1-3. Written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Brett Breeding. Dan Jurgens was at the convention Todd attended so I have purchased this three book series and Todd said he would take it and get them signed by the writer. So cool. Thanks again Todd. The three book mini series was a pretty decent read as well. I liked the psychological issues that Superman had when he was searching for Doomsday. You don’t see doubt creeping in to the Big Blue often, but, of course, after being killed by Doomsday, it makes sense.

The ClanDestine #1. “Apparently Unrelated Events: Family Reunion- Part One” The pretty gold foil cover attracted me to this number one, but the title reminded me of the group of villains from the Ms. Marvel Disney + show from last year. These characters were nothing like those ones. Written and drawn by Alan Davis. It was fine. It did not make me want to search out any more issues, though.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #13. “Cold War Part 5” Written by Jacoson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Alina Erofeeva. Steve Rogers did not die in the last part of the Cold War saga (I know… surprising, right?). He’s back with Sam Wilson and he has come to his senses. Alina Erofeeva’s artwork in this issue (especially the Sam and Steve stuff in the snow) is beautiful.

Red Goblin #5. Written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Jan Bazaldua. Honestly, I was a little confused about what was happening since I have not seen the whole part of this Carnage Reigns story. I did like the team up with Normie and Miles Morales, but I skimmed a bunch of this book since I am unclear about the story.

Nocterra #15. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Tony S. Daniel. Emory comes up with a plan to try and get Bailey’s grandpa’s equation to work, stopping the darkness. Problem is… Bill is here and is bringing the trouble. There were some amazing panels of art in this issue and it brought a feel of intensity.

Storm #1. “Blowback. Part 1: Wind-Rider” Written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Sid Kotian. Alan Davis & Alejandro Sanchez did the cover art. This is yet another book that is set in the past. This one takes place around the time frame of Uncanny X-Men #176. I’m not sure why this has become a trend at Marvel, telling ‘untold’ stories from the past. Most of these feel very disjointed from the regular books since these characters are not acting like the characters act today. The Storm book was okay, but the conflicts within Ororo felt out of date. And I do not remember Kitty Pryde acting like this. I’m not a fan of this book. I would much rather have current in continuity comic starring Storm than setting one in the past.

Phantom Road #4. “Chapter Four: Don’t Look.” Written by Jeff Lemire and featuring art by Gabriel H. Walta. What is Project Jackknife? What does Agent Weaver know about it? How does it tie in with all the things that have happened to her? Lots of questions in a compelling book with a lot of visual storytelling this issue. Phantom Road continues to be strong work each month.

Hallows’ Eve#3. Written by Erica Schultz and including art by Michael Dowling. Janine has a confrontation with Spider-Man in this issue. Spidey is always welcome for me, and I enjoyed this issue more than the previous two. I am starting to feel positively about Hallows’ Eve and her weird mask power. I have liked the originality of the book so far.

Loki #1. “The Liar” Written by Dan Watters and drawn by German Peralta. I love the character of Loki, especially the newer version of the God of the Story. He is still chaotic and not necessarily honest, but not evil. His manipulative ways are put to the test here and the last page of the issue puts Loki’s existence into question. I’m mean… I’m sure he’s fine…

Spider-Man #9. “Maxed Out Part Two: Spider-Sensitivity Training.” Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Mark Bagley. Spidey and his super spider sense is really being pushed to his limit. It gets so bad that Spidey’s spider sense is going off in his head every time he punches a bad guy. Gold Goblin and Spider-Boy have an interaction, once again bringing into question exactly whom this Spider-Boy is. Oh, and there is Electro.

Fantastic Four #8. “If Memory Serves…!” Written by Ryan North and drawn by Ivan Fiorelli. Alex Ross is the artist on the cover. The FF is home at the Fantastic Farmhouse (as dubbed by Sue). They begin a cool mystery in their new little town with a creature that is able to reshape the world’s minds. I enjoyed the first part of this issue with Sue and Alicia and … Flame-O!

Daredevil #12. “The Red Fist Saga Part 12.” Matt Murdock is starting off his plan to bring back Foggy from death and it seems as if it requires Elektra to kill him. As the finale to Chip Zdarsky’s run on DD comes quickly to us, every issue is just better than the last one. Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Marco Checchetto.

Hellcat #3. “The Know-It-All.” Written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Alex Lins. Cover art by KJ Diaz and Marte Gracia. I have been loving Hellcat each issue. In fact, this was my favorite comic (so far) this week (it was actually one of the issues that was on the ill-fated shipment). We get more info on Pasty’s past as well as the murder that she is trying to solve. She seems to be scaring Blackheart. Hm. And I do believe that the little stuffed rabbit (aka Damien Hellstrom, Son of Satan and Patsy’s ex-hubby) has something not so right about his motives.

That is not quite half of the books I got this week. It was a massive week and I hope to get some more read as I continue the June Swoon 2, The Daily Zone (Twilight Zone episodes) and the regular movie reviews (Transformers coming this Friday).

Hope you’ll be able to read this soon, Todd. 🙂 Seriously though hope things are better.

June 6, 2023

It is summer vacation.

One of the issues with summer vacation is that I sometimes lose track of what day is what. Especially on a day like today. I went to Cinemark for a double feature of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. I had already seen both of these movies, and they are my two favorites of the year so far. I am not sure which way they are. They feel as if the are 1A and 1B. Guardians was more emotional, but Across the Spider-Verse had more fist-pumping moments.

Anyway, as I was saying, It has been a long time since I went to Cinemark on a Tuesday. The double feature made it feel like a Saturday instead. I have to keep telling myself that tomorrow is not Sunday, it is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, nd I get the chance to go hang out at Comic World and read some of the new books there. It is always a blast during the summer.

Oh, and by the way, I was FINALLY able to find Where Monsters Lie #1. I had been searching through every box that I had even remotely put something new into recently, but I found it in the pile of books I have yet to box. I did not think it would be there, but right there it was.

Because I was searching for Where Monsters Lie #1, I was going through one of the number one boxes that I keep issue #1s that I do not collect. While in there, I came across a book that I did not remember seeing, and one that was interesting to read.

Damn Them All #1. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. This book from Boom! Studios was one that drew my attention in Previews last week, but it was listed as #7 so I was not sure if I wanted to jump in. However, after finding number one, I went to eBay and bid on the rest of the series. Issue #1 was really engaging and fun with a magic world.

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #4. “Earth’s Most Furious” Written by Tini Howard with art by Vasco Georgiev. Erica D’Urso & Matthew Wilson are the cover art team. There are a ton of guest stars in this issue, trying to contain Morgan Le Fey. The Avengers. Dr. Doom. Betsy had a fencing match with Tony Stark. There is some fun to be had here.

X-23: Deadly Regenesis #3. “The Past Haunts Us All Part 3” Written by Erica Schultz and drawn by Edgar Salazar. Kalman Andrasofszky (whew, what a name) was the cover artist. Laura found herself back in the clutches of her old handler, Kimura. She wanted to make an offer for an assignment for Laura, but she had to go about the process of having her agree… and that was not going to be easy.

Year Zero: Volume 0 #1. Written by Daniel Kraus and drawn by Goran Sudžuka. Another short series that I am ready to jump into this summer. This is a prequel to the first Year Zero book that I enjoyed quite a bit. This book continued its way of jumping around the globe and checking in on how the world is going with this zombie strife. Plus, a grandmother gnawed off her foot. Ooft.

Sleeping Beauties #7. Adapted by Rio Youers and art by Alison Sampson. Based on a novel by Stephen and Owen King. Getting back into this series, which only has a handful more issues to go. There is a plan afoot to launch an attack on the prison in order to get to the woman who can sleep. Meanwhile, all kinds of trippy-dippy things are going on.

Strayed #1. Written by Carlos Giffoni and drawn by Juan Doe. Another short series that has been in my ‘Too Read’ pile for quite awhile. Scientist Kiara Rodriguez developed a device that allows her to translate brainwaves into language and so she communicates with her cat. Lucky for her, her cat can travel the astral plane. It is a bizarre book.

Darkland #1. “Episode One: Stay Awhile.” Written by Nicholas Black and featuring art by Serg Acuna. Darkland was a number one in my pile of books too read so I figured to give it a chance. It was okay. There are some interesting character designs, especially Zed. There was one guy who reminded me of the Unknown Soldier. I did not find myself interested enough to go searching for any more of the series from Scout Comics. This will take its place in my number one box.

June 4, 2023

Summer is here! I anticipate some big things when it comes with my comic reading. I hope to arrange some of these comics into their appropriate boxes. I have some things ready to go.

Last time I did a Comic Cavalcade, I mentioned that there was no Marvel comic issues at Comic World. I expected that after that Wednesday when there were no Marvels shipped that there would be arriving later that week. So, as of now, it was last Sunday (a week from today)I stopped by Comic World ready to pick up those missing Marvels only for Drew to tell me that the truck from Diamond had exploded and the comic issues were all damaged.

Excuse me?

I had a difficult time finding any specific details on the accident, but I did find info from Diamond which said the truck that was carrying the comics to the “Diamond Comic Distributors’ Plattsburgh Distribution Center” suffered a serious accident that led to the comics being damaged. “While some product may ship from reserves/backstock, some will need to be sent from the printer for a delayed release,” Diamond told affected retailers in an e-mail.

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/54168/traffic-accident-delays-diamond-shipments-retailers-northeast

Apparently, there were some people hurt badly in the wreck too so all positive thoughts to anyone involved in the accident. It makes missing out on some Marvel books for a few weeks a little less important.

Marvel had some books this week…

Amazing Spider-Man #26. Written by Zeb Wells and pencils by John Romita Jr. John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz were the cover artists. This was the big issue that Marvel desperately tried to keep spoiler-free, but failed at miserably. When the word got out anyway, they just embraced the spoiler and announced that Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) dies in this issue and that is the big thing that sent Peter off the deep end. It was a good issue, but I do not like the killing of Kamala Khan even a little bit. Why? Because I know as I am typing this that she will not be dead for long. Heck, she may even be back in November when The Marvels comes out on the big screen. This feels like just another stunt that will not matter in six months to a year. I feel as if Ms. Marvel deserved better.

Nocterra: Val Special. Story by Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel and art by Francis Manapul. Look what I found. I had been having a conversation with Todd and another customer at Comic World about Nocterra and the customer referred to the series having two special issues. I knew of the Blacktop Bill special but I did not know of another. I wondered if it was missed when it came out. However, as I was looking through the ‘to be read’ pile (looking for Where Monsters Lie #1 which I cannot find. It’s in a box somewhere!), I found the issue. It was good as usual. I am glad I found it.

Starslayer: The Log of the Jolly Roger #5. Thanks to Todd for this one who gave this to me as a gift. While I just glanced at the Starslayer story (not very interested in it), the reason this is worthwhile is that there is a short backup story featuring the second appearance of Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés. It was fascinating how Groo was actually different in this story showing proof that even Groo has character development (or perhaps recession) over the years.

Deep Cuts #2. “Sorry, But I Can’t Take You” Written by Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark and penciled by Helena Masellis. Cover art was done by Chris Brunner. The second issue of this series from Image featured a story rooted in Jazz music. Specifically a woman named Gail Geldstein, a singer tying to create a Broadway show about Jazz that was lacking one really great song. It is a solid read.

Local Man #4. Written by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs and Tony Fleecs also did the art. The cover was done by Tony & Tim and Brian Reber. Jack Xaver, being chased by the police for being Local Man (a joke about Jack wearing the same coat as the pic of Local Man in the papers was great), found the hideout of Camo Crusader, a former teammate whose plans were less than super heroic. The Local Man series continues to be very entertaining.

Avengers Beyond #3. Written by Derek Landy and penciled by Greg Land. Land and Frank D’Armata did the cover art. The Avengers, who have nobly taken up the fight with the Dark Order and the Lost One, were desperately trying to keep the shield up around planet earth. The Beyonder, who the Lost One planned on destroying, had other thoguhts and betrayed the Avengers.

W0rldtr33 #2. Written by James Tynion IV and featuring art by Fernando Blanco. Siobhan Silk and Nicky Gallo arrive in the narrative, searching for answers about the case going on. To be honest, while I enjoyed reading this, I am not 100% sure what is going on. I am hoping I can make more sense soon. Perhaps I need a re-read on these. I love James Tynion IV though.

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #13. Written by Tochi Onyebuchi and drawn by R.B. Silva. The fourth part of the Cold War arc continued here as Steve and Sam go at it hard over a disagreement on what to do next about Bucky and Cap’s kidnapped son Ian.

Doctor Strange #3. “A Day with Dormammu” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Pasqual Ferry. The backup story featuring Nico Minoru was written by Amy Chi and drawn by Tokitokoro with a title “Close Encounters of a Strange Kind.” This was a neat issue with an encounter between Dr. Strange and Dormammu, one of the more original ways for arch rivals to face off.

Deadpool #7. “Heavenly Bodies.” Written by Alyssa Wong and art by Luigi Zagaria. Martin Coccolo & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Deadpool and Valentine had their date crashed by assassins from the group named Atelier. Meanwhile, Lady Deathstrike is trying to dogsit Deadpool’s new symbiote dog, Princess. I have been liking this new series featuring Deadpool, who, in the comics, has been hit and miss for me historically.

Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #4. “Part 4: Demolition Man” Written by John Jennings and art by Valentine DeLandro. Taurin Clarke was the cover artist. I have not been a huge fan of this series so far, but I did think this one was a decent book. Things are coming to a head with the Strangers and Al Harper and the Surfer. This is the penultimate issue for this mini series.

May 25, 2023

Terrible news.

There were no Marvel books this week.

There was a shipping issue so Comic World did not get in their Marvel books as they normally do. Todd told me it would be Friday (ish). It was sad.

However, I did still get some books. There would have been a time when I would not have had anything in my pull box had the Marvel shipping failed. Now, I collect a ton of independent books (even one or two from DC) and it filled the space lacking by Marvel.

Indigo Children #3. “Chapter Three: Adagio For a Songbird.” Story and script by Curt Pires & Rockwell White with line art by Alex Diotto. We meet a third Indigo Child, Rose. Her backstory is covered intricately and she comes together well with our familiar cast. This continues to be one of the best of the independent books I read.

Where Monsters Lie #3-4. Script by Kyle Starks and art by Piotr Kowalski. I finally got issue #3, which I have been missing for awhile. I have had #4 waiting fore several weeks now. Much like White Savior #4, Where Monsters Lie #3 went through a long and challenging pathway to my ownership. This series was bloody and brutal. I did like most of it, but it certainly did not feel like a finale of a series at the end of #4. I expect that this will continue one day.

The Ambassadors #5. Written by Mark Millar and featuring art by Matteo Buffagni. We are introduced to yet another new member, Code Name: Australia. I liked this character but the last page of the issue indicated that this was “To Be Concluded” in issue #6. It’s over? It feels as if it is just getting started. Bizarre.

All Eight Eyes #2. Written by Steve Fox and drawn by Piotr Kowalski. Another creepy issue with these giant spiders. The book though is also focusing on the relationship between Reynolds and Vin and that is as compelling as the monsters.

Harrower #4. Written by Justin Jordan and illustrated by Brahm Revel. This was another book that seemingly just ended. That ending was very out of nowhere and threw off what was a pretty well paced book to that point. It was quite jarring.

The Twilight Man. Story and art by Koren Shadmi. To be fair, I am only about halfway through this graphic novel that tells the life story of Rod Serling and the birth of television, but I am enjoying it so far. It is a well constructed tale with Rod talking with a woman on an airplane, narrating his own story. I was never a huge fan of the Twilight Zone, but this caught my attention in a Previews so I thought I would give it a try and it has been great so far. I hope to finish it some time this weekend.

May 21, 2023

New banner! I really loved the last one, but it felt like it was time. And I am happy with how it turned out, especially the Man-Goat and Bunnyman pics.

Finishing up this week’s new comics and another series that I have been reading along the way.

The Silver Coin #11-15. I finished up this series with the final five issues. The writers were all different but Michael Walsh provided the art in all of the books. My personal favorite of these five was the one done by James Tynion IV, which was issue #11. The Silver Coin has been up and down during my readings. Some issues were really compelling and others were okay at best. It turned out to be a pretty solid anthology series.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2. “A Fistful of Mysterium.” Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing with art by Kev Walker. Marco Checchetto did the cover art featuring a kick ass pose by Gamora. This series definitely seems to be trying to move the Guardians team closer to the MCU versions. You can see differences in Nebula and Mantis. Still with that new Western feel to it as well.

The Vigil #1. “Jig in a Storm.” Written by Ram V and art by Lalit Kumar Sharma. Sumit Kumar did the cover art. I grabbed the DC comic off the stands last week because it was a number one and that the cover was intriguing. I had no idea what this book was going to be about, but it is in the Dawn of DC event. These new characters are interesting with some new and creative abilities. Am I going to continue with it? Not sure yet. I may have to pick up #2 to see.

X-Men #22. “Bring on the Bad Guys.” Written by Gerry Duggan and featuring art by Joshua Cassara. The villains have found themselves some old Wolverine skeletons that they have fused together with their Sentinels. Fairly bad ass for sure, but this was a big issue for Spidey’s Amazing Friend, Firestar. M.O.D.O.K is here too. Didn’t expect that.

House of Slaughter #15. “The Butcher’s Return Part Five.” Written by Tate Brombal with art by Antonio Fuso. Cover art provided by Mateus Manhanini and Werther Dell’edera. Jacey faces off in an attempt to get Sunny back. Unfortunately, things do not go how he wanted them to go. Very brutal issue of House of Slaughter. I have not been a huge fan of this storyline so far. It has been putting Jacey through the wringer though.

The Seasons Have Teeth #2. “Summer.” Written by Dan Watters and illustrated by Sebastian Cabrol. Cover art from Qistina Khalidah. Second issue of Boom! Studio’s new book, The Seasons Have Teeth is a good read. Andrew is on the trail of the next photograph of the next season, after having accomplished a pic of Spring. This issue picked things up in my eyes, improving upon the first issue.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #6. “Carnage Reigns.” Written by Cody Ziglar and featuring art from Federico Vicentini. Dike Ruan & Alejandro Sanchez did the cover. Miles and Scorpion are in the wreckage of a building, trying to get their way out. Miles wants to keep saving people while Scorpion is worried that some of them would be Cassidy clones. This is a crossover with some books I do not read.

Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1. “Blood and Vengeance .” Written by Howard Mackie and art by Daniel Picciotto. Ben Harvey did the cover art. This was another Marvel story that takes place in the past. This being sometime during the young time of his Ghost Rider time. Not sure I was that into this book.

Bloodline: Daughter of Blade #4. Written by Danny Lore and drawn by Karen S. Darboe. Brielle’s story kept rolling here and we get more with Blade. They look for Brielle’s mother and a clone of Deacon Frost is ready to cause more trouble.

Indigo Children #2. “Chapter Two: The Architecture of Reality.” We meet Fred, another of the mysterious Indigo Children with his powers to construct physical barriers or blocks. This has been great so far and is starting to build some really tense storylines.